BP facility catching fresh heat from EPA

Air pollution up in Whiting, U.S. says

BP is facing more questions about pollution from its massive Whiting refinery, this time from federal regulators, who accuse the oil company of significantly increasing toxic air emissions.

In a notice sent Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said BP failed to obtain a permit in February 2005 when it altered equipment that turns crude oil into gasoline.

The modifications led to significant increases in sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, soot and carbon monoxide -- air pollution that can damage the lungs and cause heart problems, according to the EPA complaint.

Regulators said the violations are particularly troublesome because Northwest Indiana, like other parts of the Chicago area, already violates federal standards for harmful smog and soot pollution.

The latest dispute comes four months after the Tribune reported that Indiana regulators had allowed BP to increase the amount of water pollution dumped into Lake Michigan.

Intense pressure from politicians and the public forced BP to back off on those plans. Federal officials said it also prompted scrutiny of other environmental issues at the refinery, located 3 miles southeast of the Illinois-Indiana border along a heavily industrialized strip of the southern lake shore. It is unclear whether Friday's action was related to that scrutiny.

BP plans to fight the new allegations about air pollution from the refinery. Scott Dean, a company spokesman, said BP disagrees with the EPA's interpretation of rules that define major equipment modifications and routine maintenance.

"BP cooperated fully with EPA on this matter and will continue to cooperate," Dean said in a statement.

The EPA contends that BP needed a permit to upgrade a fluidized catalytic cracking unit, part of the refinery's maze of towers and pipes that converts heavy oil into lighter gasoline and other fuels.

Recent inspections at the refinery also found that BP had violated the Clean Air Act by modifying flares that burn off pollution, according to the EPA notice.

Moreover, the agency said, BP failed to monitor and test emissions from several sources.

BP recently applied for a new air permit to help clear the way for a $3.8 billion expansion of the Whiting refinery, already the nation's fourth-largest. The project will enable the refinery to process more heavy Canadian crude, which is considerably dirtier to refine than conventional oil.

The company expects that overall air pollution will decline. But BP acknowledged the project will increase emissions of certain pollutants, including lead, and will dramatically increase emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.